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Andy Webber
Silversmithing

Silver

Modern tastes call for clean and clinical lines. Chrome and stainless are commonplace around the kitchen and living room. In times past, the metal was more likely to be silver, and particularly in Victorian times would have been elaborately decorated. I love to work familiar shapes in unfamiliar materials and to play jokes. I also like to work in "industrial" or engineering shapes - something not often associated with precious metals.

Pill Boxes

Silver boxes for carrying pills have been around for a very long time. They are often rectangular in shape, sometimes with ornate decoration. In the past, they would have been a practical means of carrying pills (before blister packs and childproof plastic bottles). Modern packaging for medication is very clinical, unemotional. My objective was to create a pill box that had clean modern lines and something that is, without doubt, a pill box.

Pill boxes - half gilded - with pills

Boxes are available in two sizes, either half gilded or plain silver. All boxes are hallmarked sterling (.925) silver, fully gilded inside. The smaller size is ideal for normal size sugar coated pills (eg 200mg Nurofen, Advil, Ibuprofen) and for small capsules (eg 12mg Sudafed). The larger size is ideal for larger pills and capsules (eg 250mg paracetamol).

Small pill box with silver both endsSmall box with brushed silver one end.

Small pill box with silver both endsLarge box in plain silver.

Watch this space for details about how to buy on-line.

Nut and Bolt

M10 nut and bolt

This was partly inspired by a friend who was given a silver nut by his son while he [the son] worked for Rolls Royce. I have no idea what the original purpose of the nut was, but it became a trinket on a keyring that was often fondly tumbled between thumb and finger. A nut and bolt is normally a purely practical thing, often covered in oil or grease, performing essential duties but overlooked and unloved. But made out of silver a nut and bolt is a strangely wonderful thing to behold. For its size it is heavier than you would be used to (silver is more dense than steel) - this gives it a lovely "heft" in the hand. Running the nut up and down the bolt is compulsive. A great thing to fiddle with - utterly different as an executive toy. I first made an M10 nut and bolt (above), which weighed about 50 grammes and was laser hallmarked sterling silver.

3/8" Whitworth nut and bolt

I also wanted to make an "old style" nut and bolt - this one is 3/8" Whitworth with old style bolt head and nut (where it is only chamfered on one side, rather than both). This time I went for traditional stamped hallmarks (not shown).

Watch this space for details about how to buy on-line.

Nut box

Octagonal box

In the shape of an octagonal nut, this box is about 1 3/4 inches across flats and weighs about 120 grammes. Hallmarked sterling silver.

Watch this space for details about how to buy on-line. This is a prototype; I'm still working on some ideas with this.

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